The forum is a collaborative industry effort designed to help further define the requirements of the wireless WAN in an IoT era. Specifically, the group claims it is looking to drive the widespread adoption of wireless WAN tech by removing fragmentation and drive consolidation around a minimal set of standards for licensed and license-except wireless solutions

Ensuring the interoperability of solutions running throughout the entire IoT stack is one of the primary challenges associated with bringing the Internet of Things to fruition. As such, CEO of the WIoT Forum William Webb believes solving compatibility issues remains key to driving the broad scale adoption of IoT.

“…the risk presented by fragmentation remains very real,” he said. “Without widely-agreed open standards we risk seeing pockets of proprietary technology developing independently, preventing the benefits of mass-market scale. We are delighted today to be announcing our inaugural membership and to begin work to drive towards a collective view on the right way to deliver widespread IoT services.”

BT’s Mark Harrop reckons the IoT industry should look at using GSM as a benchmark for collaboration. “As the success of the GSM standard in the mobile world showed, working to open industry standards is critical to creating the necessary situation for mass market success,” he said. “By aligning the complete value chain in defining and promoting these standards the Wireless IoT Forum is ideally suited to make the Internet of Things a success.”

Under the remit of the association are a variety of working groups, focussing on four core areas; including marketing and requirements; review of applications and standard APIs; connectivity and networking challenges, including configurations, security and radio access for low power wide area networks; and finally regulation.

Attend Telecoms.com’s series of free webinars assessing the current state of IoT and overcoming implementation challenges.

]]>http://telecoms.com/428821/bt-accenture-and-cisco-found-wireless-iot-forum-board/feed/0Telefónica looks to self-service CEMhttp://telecoms.com/414902/telefonica-looks-to-self-service-cem/
http://telecoms.com/414902/telefonica-looks-to-self-service-cem/#commentsTue, 07 Apr 2015 13:44:47 +0000http://telecoms.com/?p=414902Spanish telco Telefónica has turned to self-service based CEM tools for residential European and Latin American customers, in order to ease pressure on OSS being caused by increased data consumption over broadband. Alcatel-Lucent and Accenture announced a four year strategic partnership in order to facilitate the transformation of Telefónica’s CEM processes.

According to Accenture, the simplification of Telefónica’s OSS processes and platforms will provide greater visibility of the network as well as enhanced self-help capabilities for the telco’s 100 million-plus customer base.

Accenture and Alcatel-Lucent will be providing varying platforms and systems to help facilitate Telefónica’s move towards self-service CEM, which will apparently afford customers the ability to troubleshoot and manage their digital and broadband services on online portals though devices, like smartphones, tablets and set-top boxes.

Telefónica’s Director of Operations and OSS, Juan Manuel Caro stressed the importance of customer expectation as a primary motivator in the decision to optimise OSS, BSS and CEM process. “Our customers have come to expect the highest possible customer service,” he said. “With common processes and diagnostic tools across our entire operation, we can now address the cost-related challenges of increased demand for digital services, while providing consistent, automated, self-care capabilities to our residential customers around the world. The complementary strengths of Alcatel-Lucent’s Motive CEM solutions and Accenture’s expertise in transformational and program management are vital to meeting our commitment to deliver increased efficiency and even better service to our customers.”

“Customer service is a key differentiator for Telefónica,” said Bhaskar Gorti, President of IP Platforms for Alcatel-Lucent. “Minimising the need for subscribers to call the help desk is a way for Telefónica to empower its subscribers and give them more control over their mobile and broadband services.”

Self-service options for telcos appear to be a bit of a hot topic this year, and certainly on the rise. In the 2015 Telecoms.com Intelligence Annual Industry Survey, 42% of respondents identified self-service as an area of OSS & BSS targeted for upgrade or deployment in the next 12 months. This constitutes an increase of 12% on last year’s survey, where 30% indicated it was a priority.

]]>http://telecoms.com/414902/telefonica-looks-to-self-service-cem/feed/0Intel launches IoT platform to take the fight to ARMhttp://telecoms.com/309971/intel-launches-iot-platform-to-take-the-fight-to-arm/
http://telecoms.com/309971/intel-launches-iot-platform-to-take-the-fight-to-arm/#commentsWed, 10 Dec 2014 11:16:48 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=309971IT chip vendor Intel has launched an IoT (Internet of Things) platform, which it said will unify gateway, connectivity and security components thus also simplifying IoT deployments. The silicon giant has also announced integrated hardware and software products based on the Intel IoT Platform.

Some of the system integrators that are partnering on the IoT platform with Intel include Accenture, Capgemini, HCL, NTT Data, Tata Consultancy and Wipro. Intel said together with these partners’ solutions it will be able to offer a repeatable foundation for IoT, making it easier for developers to focus on customers’ specific requirements.

“With this platform we are continuing to expand our IoT product family beyond silicon with enhancements to our pre-integrated solutions that make IoT more accessible to solution providers,” Doug Davis, Vice President And General Manager, Internet of Things Group at Intel said.

“IoT is a rapidly growing market but faces scalability hurdles. By simplifying the development process and making it easier to deploy new solutions that address market needs, we can help accelerate innovation.”

The integrated hardware and software products Intel is promoting with the IoT platform include API management and service creation software, edge-to-cloud connectivity and analytics, intelligent gateways, and a range of scalable IA processors.

“Accenture is focused on helping clients realize the business value of the IoT as quickly and easily as possible,” Mike Sutcliff, Group Chief Executive, Accenture Digital said. “Our combined capabilities can help us achieve that, and can also help clients get around some of the biggest roadblocks to IoT adoption by offering a simpler, faster way to roll out end to end IoT solutions than currently exists.”

Historically Intel’s strength has been in PCs and servers but it is easy to imagine what the vendor’s motivations might be to venture out to the potentially huge IoT space. One motivating factor might be mobile chip giant ARM’s recent developments in IoT. On the other hand, ARM also reckons it could have a strong hand to play in the enterprise game, so expect to see these two chip leaders increasingly stepping on each others’ toes.

]]>http://telecoms.com/309971/intel-launches-iot-platform-to-take-the-fight-to-arm/feed/0Ericsson, NTT and Verizon among eight new Cloud Foundry membershttp://telecoms.com/256012/ericsson-ntt-and-verizon-among-eight-new-cloud-foundry-members/
http://telecoms.com/256012/ericsson-ntt-and-verizon-among-eight-new-cloud-foundry-members/#commentsFri, 02 May 2014 11:04:34 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=256012Open source Platform as a Service (PaaS) initiative Cloud Foundry announced the addition of eight new members this week. Ericsson, NTT and Verizon are among those looking to contribute to and benefit from the initiative, which is indicates how seriously telcos are looking at digging deeper into the cloud stack.

Cloud Foundry, which earlier this year was spun off from enterprise software vendor Pivotal to form an independently governed foundation, added eight members to the fledging group. Along with the telecoms players, new members included IT heavyweights Accenture, GE and Capgemini along wtih BNY Mellon and Intel.

Pivotal said that the organisations either plan to develop for the platform and/or adopt it within their own organisations.

“Ericsson is committed to collaborating with organisations that are helping develop the interoperable, open and programmable network of tomorrow,” said Ulf Ewaldsson, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Ericsson.

“We look forward to working with Cloud Foundry Foundation and its constituent members to build a production platform for virtualized network functions and other workloads important to our customers,” Ewaldsson added.

Joe Crawford, executive director of strategic alliances of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, which last year signed up to participate with the Cloud Foundry Community Advisory Board, said the company is committed to supporting open standards and “believes in providing choice and flexibility to clients,” one of the drivers behind formally joining the Foundation.

“From Verizon’s perspective supporting an open environment for cloud accelerates cloud ecosystem growth by creating a pathway for developing a true ecosystem of cloud services for enterprises. Creating this ecosystem of enterprise-grade technologies is core to our cloud strategy,” Crawford said.

“We believe that in supporting open source projects we help increase the overall market acceptance of these platforms and encourage collaboration by cloud providers. This in turn strengthens the overall cloud market through additional quality, choice and value for enterprise customers,” he added.

With industry support consolidating primarily around Cloud Foundry of all open source PaaSes, telcos have been relatively quick to jump on board, with those that have joined up this week otherwise working to bolster their own cloud activities as of late.

Ericsson last week said that it would reorganise its network division and create a dedicated virtualisation unit (Cloud & IP) in a bid to keep pace with the likes of Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei, which have arguably been quicker to embrace virtualisation and other cloud-technologies in the telecoms space than the Swedish vendor.

Last month Verizon unveiled its Secure Cloud Interconnect service (SCI), which uses private IP addresses to connect its cloud and multiple cloud platforms together. The programme originally launched in partnership with Microsoft Azure, but the telco said it plans to announce partnerships with more cloud service providers as early as the second half of this year.

The addition of enterprise IT heavyweights – Accenture, Capgemini, GE, Intel – also raises further questions about the viability of Red Hat-led OpenShift, which simply hasn’t cultivated the same level of industry support.

Red Hat recently announced the launch of OpenShift Marketplace in a bid to broaden the appeal of its open source platform as a service project among developers, and attract more independent software vendors to the service. But the burning question is whether it will slow the march of enterprise IT incumbents currently flocking to its main rival.

]]>http://telecoms.com/256012/ericsson-ntt-and-verizon-among-eight-new-cloud-foundry-members/feed/0Orange Business Services forms cloud alliance with Accenturehttp://telecoms.com/241522/orange-business-services-forms-cloud-alliance-with-accenture/
http://telecoms.com/241522/orange-business-services-forms-cloud-alliance-with-accenture/#commentsFri, 04 Apr 2014 13:44:44 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=241522Operator group Orange’s enterprise-focused unit has teamed up with management consultancy and technology services provider Accenture to help large enterprises devise their cloud strategies. The two firms will also set out to support enterprises moving their infrastructure and applications to the cloud.

Accenture will bring its planning, implementation and management strengths to the table while Orange Business Services will provide its end to end cloud infrastructure and managed services. The firms will initially target businesses in Orange’s home nation of France before expanding into other European markets where Accenture does not already have an alliance with a competing IaaS provider.

Orange Business Services recently ramped up its cloud capabilities. The firm acquired French security firm Atheos in January; a firm that helps enterprises design and implement cybersecurity strategies. The acquisition saw the transfer of 130 security staff with a security background giving the operator deeper expertise in enterprise IT.

Orange and Accenture said that with this alliance, they can help businesses use the cloud to simplify their management of their IT assets and better adapt to market demands while keeping costs low.

“Cloud transformation is not just about transferring infrastructure and applications to the cloud; each company’s IT legacy and strategy is unique,” explained Philippe Laplane, head of Orange Cloud for Business.

“This is why they need customised support to make the right technology choices, to define their migration processes and pace and then manage their new cloud infrastructure.”

]]>http://telecoms.com/241522/orange-business-services-forms-cloud-alliance-with-accenture/feed/0How Google Glass will challenge and transform the enterprisehttp://telecoms.com/204661/google-glass-and-the-enterprise-a-match-made-in-heaven/
http://telecoms.com/204661/google-glass-and-the-enterprise-a-match-made-in-heaven/#commentsMon, 09 Dec 2013 15:06:39 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=204661Watching Google Glass adverts one gets the sense that everyday consumers will soon use these magnificent spectacles to do everything from sending tweets with a twitch of an eyelid to displaying surrounding Thai restaurants and recording live video of long walks along the Grand Canyon.

Perhaps even at the same time. Smart glasses shipments are expected to top 10 million annually by 2018 according to Juniper Research. But while it could be argued that Google’s pitch for Glass relates more closely to how it can be used in familiar consumer-focused applications, this technology will likely find more innovative uses in niche enterprise applications well before it becomes normalised or cheap enough for the everyman. It will also need to overcome some key barriers first.

The number of enterprise-focused use cases have significantly increased since the company released them to select “Explorers” this year. Some of them are quite compelling.

Philips Healthcare and Accenture Technology Labs are currently partnering with leading medical practitioners in the US to develop an application for Glass that will enable doctors to keep tabs on patients’ vitals and receive alerts when anomalies or medical issues are detected, wherever they – or the patient – are. Combined with location-based tracking and integrated with electronic medical health record data warehouses and live-feed vital sign monitors, the application holds promise for hospitals and medical clinics looking to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of medical care.

Professor Ben Foster of DePaul University in Chicago says these spectacles could be used by professors to deliver an integrated digital and personal learning experience. “E-Learning is great, but we all know that nothing can replace an intellectual discussion with peers in a classroom,” he said. “With Glass, I could quickly search and distribute supplementary information while keeping my focus on maintaining an engaging discussion.”The technology also holds promise in education. In August, Dr Christopher Kaeding of Ohio State University performed knee ligament reconstruction, broadcasting the surgery live to medical students in a conference room on campus. The live broadcast enabled students to gain better visibility of the procedure than if they were huddled around the operating area, and Kaeding said he could switch between conversations with students and performing the surgery with relative ease.

Some educational institutions are even experimenting with using Glass’s text-to-speech translation features to improve learning for the visually impaired.

In manufacturing Glass is being used to monitor large controlled machines. The Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies (ITAMCO) consortium recently experimented with using Glass to monitor power status, alarms and machine-generated alters, as well as override mechanical feed rates and implement emergency stops. The group says it could lead to significant enhancements in machine operator safety.

There are seemingly infinite use cases for smart glasses, which generally consist of a tiny computer connected to a heads-up display with an integrated camera, microphone, and built-in IP connectivity. Diverse verticals like manufacturing, retail, healthcare and education are looking to Google glass and similar augmented reality technologies on offer from other vendors for their potential cost and efficiency savings.

“Smartglasses with augmented reality and head-mounted cameras can increase the efficiency of technicians, engineers and other workers in field service, maintenance, healthcare and manufacturing roles,” said Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner.

“In the next three to five years, the industry that is likely to experience the greatest benefit from smartglasses is field service, potentially increasing profits by $1 billion annually,” she said.

McIntyre explained that the sectors most likely to benefit from Glass and similar products are field of service industries like oil and gas, construction, and industries that largely depend on a mobile workforce completing complex manufacturing and repair tasks. These devices can be used to beam instructions on how to repair complex machinery, and broadcast video to off-site experts in real time for support. They can also be used for on-the-job training, and improve on-site safety.

Dominic Thasarathar, who focuses on the strategic role of new technology in construction and natural resource sectors for Autodesk, which develops software for engineering, construction, architecture and design applications says the technology is promising for several reasons.

“The exciting thing about augmented reality is that it really does have the potential to improve productivity,” Thasarathar said. “Consider that most construction projects have traditionally used 2D plans that are great for architects to design with and for engineers to finesse the design. But it’s quite an abstract notion to build something from a 2D plan as opposed to a 3D model, which we have increasingly through the use of building information modelling (BIM),” he said. Virtual overlays of BIM beamed dynamically from the cloud to Glass could enable a much more efficient construction process.

Thasarathar explained that beyond enabling on-the-job training and improving the construction process, augmented reality could also be used in post-construction applications: “Once a building is built there is a lot of money spent on operations and maintenance, retrofitting, refurbishing. So companies are very interested in how augmented reality might be able to help blend a 3D model used to create that building with O&M – so being able to walk around, have a tablet and use your smart glasses as x-ray specs to see electrical, heating ducts and all the critical information associated with that.

Thasarathar said while it’s too early to reveal any of the company’s specific initiatives in this space, he will continue to keep a watchful eye on how nascent IP-connect augmented reality technologies like Glass fit into the Internet of Things more broadly.

“It could save a lot of money by cutting delays, and cut accidents,” he added.“If you look at non-visual augmented reality in process plants for example, vehicle movers in process plants – there are some facilities now where the vehicles they use, equipped with a range of sensors, can detect gas and will shut off automatically. You also have examples of warning systems individuals wear so that if a crane or digger is moving near to them, it will alert them. What if we could bring these systems to visual augmented reality – dynamically updating the hazard landscape of a construction site in real time, and beam that information to workers?”

Using visual augmented reality in enterprises still has its challenges, beyond the potential cost and complexity of integrating these systems with existing enterprise IT estates. While it has the potential to change how people interact and capture information around them, more easily than ever before, some are rightly concerned that bringing Glass into the enterprise will encourage colleagues to purposefully or inadvertently spy on one another (Google has attempted to allay these fears). Enterprises are already pretty busy keeping cloud-based storage and sharing services out of their organisations for fear that these may lead to more data loss and IP theft; imagine what could happen if just 20 per cent of a company’s workforce recorded everything they saw, eight hours a day, some may wonder.

There’s also the issue of safety. People are generally not good at multitasking and in certain industries (like logistics) one can imagine these glasses disrupting rather than aiding, potentially creating a hazardous work environment in order to yield marginal efficiency gains. Law enforcement agencies are already issuing tickets for driving with smart glasses which may prompt a broader, much needed discussion on the seemingly assured domination of IP-connected wearables and their impact on general safety.

This hasn’t stopped vendors from betting that smart glasses will be the next big thing in enterprises (after cloud computing, of course). Nitin Bhas, an analyst at Juniper research said that about 70 per cent of application developers catering to enterprise IT are currently looking to develop applications for these devices.

Bhas forecasts smart glasses shipments to top 10 million by 2018, compared with the 87,000 shipped this year. He said that in the case of Google Glass, much of the traction is likely going to come from consumer markets in the long term, where they are likely to debut well below the $1,500 mark they’re currently sold at, and integrate with other Google products and services popular with consumers today (not necessarily the case for more enterprise-focused smart glasses offerings from vendors like Inifite Peripherals, and Vuzix): “Our smart glasses shipment numbers are relatively small in the short term and our forecast for smart glasses adoption by consumers is completely dependent on the market availability of economically attractive hardware and apps.”

But he cautioned that field trials and regulatory approval to address privacy and safety concerns will take a long time to complete, which may see their penetration in enterprises deferred for at least a few years.

“Players like Google still need to address a number of key hurdles preventing their adoption, like privacy, and fashion,” he said, adding that we won’t see much acceleration in the consumer market until 2017 despite a wider pool of potential users initially.

“While in many places there are no laws regarding filming in public places, many people may object if they perceive they are being filmed. Issues of privacy remain even where the device does not store images or video as a matter of course; if it has that capability, people will be concerned about what their likeness will be used for,” he said.

He continued: “The initial reactions to Google Street View will be the kind of reaction that one could expect from filming the general public in public spaces. But despite facing nearly 30 legal actions and bans in 23 countries, Google have still been able to expand the Google Street View project and many bans have been overturned. However, the ferocity of the initial reaction to the project demonstrates the reaction that could face AR smart glasses if they were more widely implemented.”

Smart glasses seem to be following this trajectory, taking mobile connectivity and infinite information one step closer toward ubiquity. But Bhas said that to achieve critical mass in either consumer or enterprise markets they will have to be much more than complementary devices or secondary screens: “These devices would need to capture the imagination of the general public making the technology seamless within their daily routine.”

It’s difficult to prognosticate (as is always the case with new technologies) on how the smart glasses market will mature, particularly the consumer side – where smartphones are quickly becoming the primary platform for social activity and seamless interconnectivity. But if anything, enterprises, which are developing extremely compelling use cases for smart glasses technology and finally coming to grips with managing mobile security and BYOD culture, will play a key role in shaping that process.

]]>http://telecoms.com/204661/google-glass-and-the-enterprise-a-match-made-in-heaven/feed/0Emerging markets more willing to pay 4G premium survey suggestshttp://telecoms.com/151292/emerging-markets-more-willing-to-pay-4g-premium-than-mature-survey-suggests/
http://telecoms.com/151292/emerging-markets-more-willing-to-pay-4g-premium-than-mature-survey-suggests/#commentsWed, 12 Jun 2013 11:49:01 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=151292The willingness to pay a premium for 4G services is generally lower in mature markets than in emerging markets, a recent survey suggests. Accenture surveyed 31,000 consumers in 26 countries to understand what CSPs must do to address their needs.

It found that mobile subscribers worldwide have an appetite for speed, with the vast majority citing speed of mobile internet connections as the top differentiator for communication services providers. And nearly two-thirds said they would pay a premium for mobile internet services that are 10 times faster than their current connection.

However, the report found disparities in consumers’ willingness to pay for faster services.

An average of only 57 per cent of all respondents in the mature markets surveyed said they were willing to pay a premium, excluding Italy and Finland, where the averages were 70 per cent and 71 per cent respectively.

In contrast, an average of 76 per cent of consumers in emerging markets said they would pay more for 4G. 83 per cent of customers in Brazil and Russia said they would be willing to pay a premium.

The survey also showed that consumer demand outstanding quality of service; almost all respondents (96 per cent) said the quality of network is important, closely followed by its area of coverage (95 percent) and connection speed (95 percent). 94 per cent of respondents said the cost of data is slightly less important than quality, coverage, or connection speed.

The report also revealed a slight reluctance to trust mobile operators as payment providers, When consumers were asked to consider their top choices for mobile payments providers, banks scored the highest (89 per cent), followed by payment card providers (81 per cent) with mobile providers (77 per cent) ranking third.

]]>http://telecoms.com/151292/emerging-markets-more-willing-to-pay-4g-premium-than-mature-survey-suggests/feed/0Fujitsu to launch European smartphone playhttp://telecoms.com/40203/fujitsu-to-launch-european-smartphone-play/
http://telecoms.com/40203/fujitsu-to-launch-european-smartphone-play/#commentsMon, 20 Feb 2012 17:07:04 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=40203Japanese electronics vendor Fujitsu has announced its intention to launch smartphones and tablets into the European market. The firm has a 20 per cent share of the Japanese mobile device market, according to Robert Pryke, director of Fujitsu’s European device business.

Pryke said that the vendor is currently in talks with European operators over potential distribution deals.

“Details of timings and devices that will be made available in European countries will be dependent on the outcome of ongoing negotiations with operators across Europe, including those with a pan-European footprint and those that provide services in just one territory. The company is looking for the right partnerships that will lead to steady and sustained growth,” Pryke said.

Fujitsu’s move comes at a time when the large operator groups are focused on reducing the numbers of device providers they work with, rather than increasing them. Last November, Matthew Key, head of Telefónica Digital announced that the operator is looking to cut its device range in half, while Vodafone’s head of device marketing Peter Becker-Pennrich recently told Telecoms.com that just eight vendors supply 98 per cent of the devices that Vodafone ranges, and that he expects this number to come down “quite a bit”.

Research by Accenture suggests that operators cannot get the best unit price from vendors until volumes rise above half a million.

“The research that we’ve carried out into the prices that manufacturers charge operators shows that, until you hit between 500,000 – 750,000 units, you don’t reach a manufacturer’s best price,” said Dan Adams, a partner at Accenture. “So operators have to set their portfolio so that a good chunk of it gets over that number per device. If they don’t, they’ll be paying more than the competition and, while they might have a better range of handsets that’s more adjusted to the local market, consumers are not going to pay more for a handset they can get cheaper elsewhere.”

]]>http://telecoms.com/40203/fujitsu-to-launch-european-smartphone-play/feed/0Differentiating in a dynamic worldhttp://telecoms.com/39745/differentiating-in-a-dynamic-world/
http://telecoms.com/39745/differentiating-in-a-dynamic-world/#commentsMon, 13 Feb 2012 12:16:44 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=39745Paul Bultema, executive director, UK and Ireland strategy lead for the communications, media and technology operating group of Accenture, talks about consolidation, differentiation and the rise of over the top services.The opportunities for differentiation in this industry are cyclical. At one time carriers competed on network coverage or price. Today, at the dawn of the 4G era, coverage and price remain important to customers—although in many cases there is nowhere for prices to go—but the deployment of new technology is adding into the mix the expectation of improved performance.

As a result, there is a significant opportunity for operators to differentiate on the customer experience, with a focus on the products and services on offer and the brands they represent. Paul Bultema, executive director, UK and Ireland and strategy lead for the communications, media and technology operating group of Accenture, believes that wireless operators are having a tougher time than the fixed line players, which is forcing a certain shift in the network operator business model.

“On the wireline side there is more of a sustainable and consistent enterprise space where you have not seen the same amount of churn,” Bultema says. “But on the mobile side you have the decline of voice and data revenues combined with the impact of growth in data over the last few years as well as the capex investment needed for those network upgrades. It puts carriers in a precarious position and they’ve historically been very vertical in everything like retail and distribution so they’ve taken a hit on many levels.”

Sticking to comparisons with the wireline industry, Bultema notes that operators have “horrific” data quality linking the physical layers of the network to the services used by customers. And while wireless operators also have this issue, they have the additional challenge of much more dynamic requirements. “It’s one thing trying to manage a POTS customer but another managing them in a 3G or 4G environment where you have to be so dynamic, while at the same time deploying your 4G network, and catering to tablets and devices that are very bursty and have never been seen before in the network,” he says.

This kind of pressure is driving operators to question themselves as to what’s really core and non-core to their business. Bultema acknowledges that operators are increasingly coming to accept that networks are not core to their business—a phenomenon which is driving the growth in outsourcing and network sharing.

“We’re going to see some major changes in the next two to three years in the mobile space, with increased M&A and consolidation impact in terms of retail and distribution and substantial consolidation on transmission,” he says. “Where regulators have historically encouraged competition they now have to change tack a bit and tolerate network consolidation. It’s more of a move towards a utility rather than each operator owning their own network.”

Bultema cites Australia as a prime example, where the National Broadband Network is being pitched as a core national utility—designed to make the country more competitive and aimed at trying to lower the cost of provision per subscriber. He also cites national investment schemes taking place in Brazil and many other countries, where it is unsustainable for every operator to have their own network.

By the same token, LTE is having a dramatic impact on operator business models—with the threat of the dumb pipe—the operator’s greatest fear—looming ever large. But according to Bultema, the dumb pipe strategy is a good thing for the industry. “Consider LightSquared in the US, which is trying to be the dumbest pipe possible. It has no product development or R&D but what it has is open APIs into their OSS and BSS and network so customers can come and plug in to their network and develop products and services on behalf of their own customers where they have greater customer intimacy. I think this model speeds innovation and moves innovation closer to the customers in niche segments,” he says.

In the wake of LightSquared’s creation, the industry has seen a proliferation of the LTE wholesale model adopted by Yota in Russia, as well as operators in Poland and Mexico. Accenture believes this will drive intense competition at the retail level and that mobile operators will be put under further pressure as a result.

“Technology is one of the drivers of this business model–Ethernet and backhaul is a pre requisite–and the upgrades around 4G are more difficult than operators expect. They may know network deployment but this is not just another network deployment,” Bultema says. “It has end-to-end ramifications across the company, starting in sales and marketing, management, infrastructure and engineering, construction, service delivery, and IT, before you even have your node ready,” he says. “Doing that in 3G with a well defined process is one thing but trying to optimise 3G much more dynamically while trying to roll out 4G—and doing that in an efficient way—is another thing entirely, and I’ve not seen one operator that has an end-to-end management workflow system to align those plans on the network. That is a significant issue and means most operators are very much behind schedule in terms of 4G upgrades.”

According to Bultema, telecoms as an industry suffers from tremendous inefficiencies. He picks out airlines as an evolutionary target. There are few players headquartered in any given country and many don’t even own their planes, preferring instead to lease them. Airlines don’t do their own maintenance or their catering, they outsource both. But what they do manage directly—and what they’re really good at, Bultema says—is pricing models, operation heuristics and supply chain management as well as supply and demand forecasting.

“This is what’s driving network consolidation and the rise of LTE wholesalers. Take Yota for example—it’s a much more capital efficient and faster way of deploying LTE,” he says.

“Telecoms has not made that type of change–most operators still own everything on an end to end basis and, outside of the US, the way operators communicate with each other in terms of third party network access is still through phone, fax and email, there’s no e-bonding infrastructure.

“So telecoms has been ripe for an upgrade for decades but nothing had emerged as a critical issue that will drive this—until now. My belief is that LTE, not as a technology, but because of the fundamental dynamics needed to support network upgrades and the innovation required to survive at the IP layer, is going to drive that kind of structural change in the industry.”

Although some operators are considering the dumb pipe model, they also need to consider content and service partnerships, and this is where the over the top (OTT) players have been much more innovative than operators. They are closer to and more intimate with their customers, allowing them to extract a significant amount of profitability from the changes of platforms and ecosystems as they develop rapidly within the industry.

Coming back to the key question of whether or not each service provider in any given market needs to have their own network, Bultema argues that this is something that is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Going forward the requirements for LTE, fibre and network upgrades will drive very deep network sharing. Operators will have to morph themselves into much leaner organisations in order to compete against OTT players and provide that responsiveness and innovation.

And analytics will play a key role in tailoring these services. The ability to dynamically link customers to their products and services and then back to the financials and network quality, so operators can proactively respond to QoS issues and improve the user experience, will be a core competitive advantage and differentiator going forward.

Customer touch points should be extended throughout the customer lifecycle—not just at the end of a customer’s lifespan and not just on the sell side but also on the customer experience side, he says. “Such as text messages when you land in a foreign country giving you information about roaming prices and a notification if you’re about to hit your data allowance–these things can be helpful or beneficial and can improve your perception of the operators,” Bultema says. Again telcos can learn from airlines with their own loyalty programs and improve their loyalty schemes in a way that attracts customers, he argues.

“The OTT players, Facebook, Google and Apple have a fairly loyal fan base and there are lessons to be learned from them by operators in terms of keeping products very simple, and the interface very clean and straightforward, creating a suite of services around what their core strengths are,” he says. “There is rapid innovation but also rapid abandonment if something does not work and all these product management elements are still slow in the operator community.”

]]>http://telecoms.com/39745/differentiating-in-a-dynamic-world/feed/0Network Sharing: Improving the medium so the message is not losthttp://telecoms.com/39162/network-sharing-improving-the-medium-so-the-message-is-not-lost/
http://telecoms.com/39162/network-sharing-improving-the-medium-so-the-message-is-not-lost/#commentsTue, 31 Jan 2012 16:21:27 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=39162Way back in 1996, at the dawn of the digital revolution, Microsoft founder Bill Gates declared in an article that “Content is King.” Gates drew a parallel to television, saying that “The television revolution that began half a century ago spawned a number of industries, including the manufacturing of TV sets, but the long-term winners were those who used the medium to deliver information and entertainment.” This statement has proved prophetic. However the ensuing evolution of content – or more specifically content quality –is also proving to be one of the greatest challenges to the digital future. Without an adequate medium of delivery, there is no message.

The iPhone, the iPad, the Android platform, the Kindle, the ultrabook – new mobile devices have transformed the world in which we live and work. But this transformation has come at an increasingly high financial cost. The scale of network investment required to achieve the performance that customers expect – and the increased need to support complex services and content – is threatening the business case for mobile broadband services.

Typical mobile operators spend between 20 percent and 30 percent of operating expenses and 50-70 percent of capital expenses on network cost. As data volumes increase and the deployments of 4G networks proliferate, so will network costs. Such increases, combined with uncertainties about how to monetize higher levels of data traffic, represent a continuing challenge to operators that could hinder future profitability and cash flow.

One of the solutions to this problem is to limit network costs through network sharing, a formal arrangement between two or more mobile operators to share various components of their networks.

Changing Strategy

Historically, networks have been considered areas of competitive differentiation. Superior network performance and coverage have been the slogans of providers for years. However, many network components today are simply table stakes and may not be true differentiators. Indeed, by focusing on cost-reduction measures such as network sharing, management may be able to reinvest savings into alternative differentiating strategies such as customer service, innovative offerings and being first-to-market with new devices.

A well-executed network sharing venture has the potential to deliver a 20 to 40 percent reduction against standalone cost run rates . From one-third to two-thirds of those benefits are rooted in cost avoidance, with the balance resulting from actual cost reductions. Equally important, network sharing can help an operator significantly accelerate deployment speed, plug coverage gaps and grow revenues without increases in network costs.

Negotiating, planning and managing a network sharing deal requires executive leadership to overcome multiple complexities, including organizational integration issues and regulatory challenges. The prize for overcoming these challenges is the opportunity to control costs and achieve market advantage in the years ahead.

The business case

For a typical mobile operator, the majority of network costs don’t come from the core network. They come from the access network, often called the “edge.” This includes “backhaul” – the microwave, fiber or copper connections between the core network and base stations – and the “radio access network,” the final connection to the device. A recent industry analyst report found that these elements can account for more than 80 percent of incremental network costs. Most network sharing arrangements will therefore cover one or more elements in the edge, while the backbone is rarely shared. Which elements exactly are shared or kept separate will depend on the tradeoff between cost control and differentiation that the sharing partners are willing to make. The financial business case is one that is clearly measurable, while differentiation is much more difficult to quantify. Interestingly enough, it is the differentiation agenda that will stir up the most emotions.

Savings are usually realized by consolidating two network infrastructure footprints into one, eliminating redundant sites and connections. Cost avoidance is delivered by using another operator’s network sites or leveraging a joint deployment strategy, thereby reducing deployment and operating costs. In addition, operators often receive a top-line boost from network sharing. By using a partner’s existing sites, operators can accelerate deployment of services and improve customer experience and retention. These have obvious positive impacts on revenues.

A formal network sharing partnership requires a dedicated organization to manage it. These arrangements are generally of three types. An operating joint venture involves both parties contributing financial and human resources to the organization. An asset-owning joint venture involves having the network sharing organization take control of the assets and liabilities related to the network share, with each party having an equity stake in the organization. The third arrangement is one where a neutral third-party operates and manages all aspects of the network sharing venture and charges back all relevant costs to the different partners.

If the sharing partners are similar in terms of spectrum position, backhaul strategy and market share, the first model is often the most appropriate. The other two models work better when there is a significant difference between the sharing operators.

Regulation

A number of important regulatory constraints, especially those focused on the impact of network sharing on competition, must be carefully considered and managed. Typically, operators cannot use network sharing to reduce competition or coordinate their market behaviors.

This restriction can hinder rollout synergies because it limits the extent to which the sharing partners can align their plans. Only the joint-venture organization is permitted to view both operators’ intentions, but it cannot share this information with either party. Both operators need to be aware of these constraints and not be tempted to compromise them in a way that would increase regulatory risk.

Integration

Successful network sharing requires meeting several integration challenges across systems, processes and people. From a technology perspective, the success of a network-sharing venture depends on the ability to align the information systems across the different organizations and to keep the information consistent for both. Network processes will also overlap, so it’s important for operators to understand each other’s existing processes, delineate the responsibilities each operator will have, and make any needed changes to either side’s approaches to support the success of the venture, as well as prevent any leakage of competitively sensitive information

Because network sharing changes the way people work, effective change management activities are important, including clear communications, team building and support for cultural change.

The common thread among these success factors is strong program management. A dedicated program management function – which drives the coordination and integration of the consolidation and rollout –can make the difference between success and failure of a network sharing venture. Some operators are looking to improve speed to value by leveraging a third party to deliver program management – an organization that can bring experience from other similar ventures and that can, by being neutral and not aligned to either side, be in a better position to make difficult decisions.

A final thought

Network sharing is a significant opportunity for network operators to keep costs under control while also improving the customer experience and retention. However, operators need to be aware of the subtleties that underpin this strategy, specifically around cost reduction versus cost avoidance. In addition, benefits will be difficult to achieve without effectively addressing a range of operational and management challenges around the organization, integration and competitive aspects. Getting this right will significantly improve an operator’s chances of driving advantage from a network sharing strategy.

Paul Bultema is Executive Director, UK and Ireland Strategy Lead, Communications, Media and Technology operating group, at Accenture. Read his comments on Customer Experience Management in a forthcoming feature due in February.

]]>http://telecoms.com/39162/network-sharing-improving-the-medium-so-the-message-is-not-lost/feed/0Nokia outsources Symbian development, sheds 4,000 jobshttp://telecoms.com/26973/nokia-outsources-symbian-development-sheds-4000-jobs/
http://telecoms.com/26973/nokia-outsources-symbian-development-sheds-4000-jobs/#commentsWed, 27 Apr 2011 09:40:15 +0000http://www.telecoms.com/?p=26973In what appears to be another move to distance itself from Symbian, Nokia on Wednesday announced plans to outsource development of the floundering operating system to consultancy and outsourcing firm Accenture. As part of the process, the Finnish giant will also transition some 3,000 employees to the outsourcing firm.

The affected employees are currently based in China, Finland, India, the UK and the US and over time, with the process starting before year end, the company will seek opportunities to “retrain and redeploy transitioned employees”.

The move casts Nokia in the role of hardware developer. Under the collaboration agreement, Accenture will provide Symbian-based software development and support services to Nokia for future smartphones, extending beyond Symbian. Accenture will provide mobility software, business and operational services around the Windows Phone platform to Nokia and other ecosystem participants.

In October 2009, Accenture acquired Nokia’s professional services unit that provides engineering and support of the Symbian operating system to mobile device manufacturers and service providers, and which then served as a key building block in Accenture’s Mobility services portfolio.

But the changes don’t stop there. As part of measures to reduce its Devices & Services operating expenses by €1bn for the full year 2013, the Finnish firm will reduce its global workforce by about 4,000 employees by the end of 2012, with the majority of reductions in Denmark, Finland and the UK. The company’s research and product development sites will be hit hard, with the expansion of some sites and the contraction or closure of others.

“At Nokia, we have new clarity around our path forward, which is focused on our leadership across smart devices, mobile phones and future disruptions,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia president and CEO. “However, with this new focus, we also will face reductions in our workforce. This is a difficult reality, and we are working closely with our employees and partners to identify long-term re-employment programs for the talented people of Nokia.”